2013 - Wrapping up a helluva year!

2013 was a celebration of the first year of August's life, born one year ago last week. A very full, fun, and, by turns, difficult year in the Hamilton home. This post is about the music that soundtracked the year, some of these albums have been spinning incessantly, a few only when a certain mood demands it.  These are the lps that I've wanted to hear again and again though.  I hope you take a few minutes to take a listen too, there's some nice songs here...
My top thirteen albums of 2013:

1. Hiss Golden Messenger - Haw
Emily says this sounds like Prince, which surprised me but I get it too. Gospel and laid-back funk are the backbone of this pop folk opus. Easy to listen to, yet rich, complicated, and rewarding.



2. Arcade Fire - Reflektor
It's too mainstream for me, I say.
I love it! I say.
I tend to be a bit of a contrarian with music, if everyone loves it, I don't.  This is partly my obstinate way but often just a function of my tastes. Even if they win another Grammy for this one, I'll still love it.
I still love Funeral too, though since then, they've left me a bit cold. This is my favorite thing Arcade Fire's done so far. The production finally suits the songs and sound. To me, the anti-guitar solo on Joan Of Arc sums it all up, perfectly spaced and timed, unexpected and just right.


 3. Low - The Invisible Way
One of their best. More Mimi is part of what makes this the only Low I've wanted to hear in months, plus, the hope and transcendence they've always hidden under the desolation shines through a little more brightly here.  As she sings on Holy Ghost, it "feeds my passion for transcendance."



4. Bill Callahan - Dream River
"The only words I said today are Beer. and Thank You. Beer. Thank You. Beer." It's not just the words you say Bill, its how you say them and
all
that
space
around them.  Thank you.




5. Deafheaven - Sunbather
((( Heavy and atmospheric )))  They achieve a gorgeous balance on this album and have hit a level of acclaim - and radio play - that I never would've expected from a scream-y black metal band. But, damn, it is good!



6. Waxahatchee - Cerulean Salt
Writing songs and delivering them in ways that belie her 22 years, Katie Crutchfield is Waxahatchee.  I'm really not sure why I keep wanting to hear this but I do — honest, sad, lovely songs about growing up.  For a point of reference, think Throwing Muses or Juned mixing in a healthy dash of country.



7. Golden Gunn - s/t
A collaboration between guitarist Steve Gunn and Hiss Golden Messenger. Driving late at night and flipping through AM radio, scanning the horizon for the next roadhouse dive bar and a beer.  Golden Gunn soundtracks this scene.  It's kind of a perfect place to be if you think about it, and this album can take you there...

8. Kurt Vile - Wakin' On A Pretty Daze
Kurt's honed his chops over the past few years. This is his strongest release in a string of good ones.  The songs are stretched out a bit, some clocking in at 8 or 9 minutes. Plus they're really, really good songs.  I think Gold Tone is the best thing he's written.  He's a real sidewalk-shambling dude, this guy.  A Mellow-rific album!



9. The Body - Master, We Perish
((((((  They also released Christ, Redeemers this year but it hasn't stuck as much as this fantastic ep.  All their signature moves ~ the disarmingly gorgeous female choir building and then dropping out to make room for the aural onslaught, the screaming vocals, and the caterwauling drums. Heavier than Deafheaven but traversing similar dark territory.  ))))))



10. My Bloody Valentine - mbv
A long time coming, this album is the only one on the list that made me giddy waiting for it to arrive on my doorstep (22 years of waiting...). It ended up being about 85% awesome, with a couple songs that don't ever really take off.  Seeing them live was fun too and added a bit to the aura of this album.  The second half  is just stellar, and when Bilinda sings it totally floats my guaze-y, gaze-y boat.


 11. Juliana Barwick - Nepenthe
Recorded in Iceland by Sigur Ros guys, it out-Ros's anything they've put out in the past couple years. Just a gorgeous album that was written as an ode to Juliana's grandmother passing recently.  It does have an elegiac quality that really serves the music well.  This and the Low album are my go-to's for pure, unadulterated sonic beauty this year.



12. Jim James - Regions of Light and Sound of God
A few hits and a few misses on this one but mostly a surprising and surprisingly good release from the My Morning Jacket front man. The hits are the Krautrock organ and processed sax jams sprinkled throughout, ala' Soft Machine. The misses are the John Lennon sound-alike sing-alongs that he tries to pull off.  Haven't heard the cd but the lp is rich, warm and beautifully mastered.



13. Savages - Silence Yourself
Mining a sound that I'm a huge fan of... I'll hop on that band-wagon. Sure, they're a bit derivative of Souixsie or The Raincoats but that's an era that should be celebrated Way more than it is...



plus,  3 Great Reissues from '13:

Grateful Dead - One From The Vault, August 13, 1975. The Great American Music Hall.
One of the premiere Dead shows that exists imo. Nice to hear it on vinyl and amazingly, beautifully mastered/pressed to boot.  Thank you Light In the Attic!

Arthur Russell - Another Thought
Such a great album! The vinyl is nicely done and sounds great but seems to be a digitally-sourced press.    This is one of his best releases in a too-short career of beauty-full music making.

Nirvana - In Utero
45rpm remastered over 3 LPs with outtakes and the Steve Albini remix?  ok!

thanks for reading.

2013...helluva year...

       here it is, June 2013. A halfway mark kinda thing. There have been things that instantly glommed onto my pleasure zones over the past 6 months. My son's smile for one, August turns 6 months old today. His smile is a thing of utter glorious beauty. Anyone...everyone, would agree on this fact. It's heart-melting. There are other things too, but this one is the cream that rises to the top. The thing that coalesces and bubbles up to the top of each day and must be skimmed off with a butter knife and put in a porcelain tea cup and drank each morning at dawn, sun rising and son yawning. Adding a layer of fat to my bones, a layer of sweet, smiling goodness to cushion me from the bludgeoning blows of the day, from anything at all. It's a damn great smile!
      There are a few other things that bubble up and that I've found worthy of repeated revisits. Mostly music and art and moments spent with friends and my family... A few sonic signatures of 2013 so far:

DeafHeaven - Sunbather I'm not a scream-y metal guy, I guess. But I do love me some Opeth and, lately, I've been utterly blown away by DeafHeaven...I recommend to highest degree that you check it out and, maybe add it to your best friggin' albums of 2013 list. It's certainly on mine..  
Peter Jefferies - The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World vinyl reissue via De Stijl.
Rediscovering Guided By Voices...
the sound of our new neighborhood...three blocks away but quieter street and slightly new geography have given us a distinctively new set of sounds to listen to thru the day, and night.
Baroness reissue of First/Second ep's. Orange opaque vinyl, 2003-2005 recordings.